Pomegranate
by bassocontinuo
Summary: A first kiss goes horribly wrong. Poor Kaoru. This has not been her day.


Author's Note: Just a little something I put together for the RK_Challenge livejournal community for the February Contest. Originally this story was two entries which I've combined into one. My prompts were Fruit and Denial. As a point of reference, this story takes place after the events of the anime but before Kaoru and Kenshin have begun a serious romantic relationship. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki. I do not own these characters.

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_**Pomegranate**_

Kaoru sat facing the garden with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders while she repaired a rip in one of her favorite kimono. Domestic affairs were not her forte and she pricked herself almost every other stitch. "Drat!" She grumbled and regretted her decision to send Kenshin to the market for food. He was better at this sort of thing and she probably could have gotten him to do the sewing for her. The master swordsman was better at _all_ sorts of things, particularly the kind of things that she _should_ be good at as a woman and an assistant master of a dojo. It could be so irritating at times!

She heard shuffling from inside and then Kenshin's voice calling out to the household. "Tadaima"

"Okaeri, Kenshin," Kaoru called back. "I'm outside in the garden."

The door slid open and Kenshin emerged holding a strange looking fruit in his hand. "Ohaiyo, Kaoru dono. What are you working on," he said with an annoying smirk as he looked at her bleeding and swollen fingers.

"Nothing," Kaoru spat and pitched her sewing project to the side. "So what did you pick up at the market?"

"Mostly the usual" Kenshin said as he took a seat beside her, "but there were some new things from overseas. Here," he offered her the bulbous red fruit, "they call it a pomegranate. You can only get them when it's cold like this"

Kaoru held the fruit in her hands. It looked like a strange hybrid of a potato and an apple, but she shrugged and took a large bite of it anyway. Instantly, she spat out the offending fruit. "Bleeeh. That's awful! I think you were taken advantage of Kenshin; that's disgusting."

"Here, let me try it," he asked patiently. Kaoru gladly handed it over.

Kenshin was looking inside the fruit at the bright red interior that Kaoru had exposed. His brows knitted in thought. She watched as he slid his two thumbs into the fruit and cracked it open. The center of the fruit held a cluster of tiny red seeds that had been protected by the tough grainy outer shell which Kaoru had just gotten a mouthful of. "I wonder if we're supposed to eat the seeds," Kenshin wondered aloud.

"You try it first," Kaoru ordered. She was not going to be fooled a second time.

Kenshin awkwardly maneuvered both halves of the fruit into one hand and then picked up a single seed. She watched him put it into his mouth and tilt his head back while he considered the taste of it. "It's good," he said at last. "A little tart, but good. Won't you try it again," Kenshin asked offering the fruit to Kaoru once more.

Kaoru sighed, but did as he asked. If this was some sort of prank, she was going to kill him. She took one half of the pomegranate and tried a single seed for herself. Her eyes widened in surprise as the fresh, bright flavor exploded on her tongue. "Oh my…that is good," she said and started munching on pomegranate seeds left and right. They were full of flavor and juice, and Kaoru was making quite a mess of her meal.

Kenshin chuckled. "Kaoru dono, you've gotten a bit on your face."

Kaoru blushed and tried to cover her mouth with her hand but even that was sticky too.

"Here, let me help you," Kenshin offered. He gently cupped her cheek in his hand and brushed the juice from her lips and the corners of her mouth with his thumb.

Kaoru was wide-eyed and frozen in place by the intimacy of the moment. Kenshin's eyes and kind smile were merely friendly, but something new seemed to pass between them because he did not immediately pull away like he usually did. It was pleasant. Kaoru closed her eyes and tilted her cheek into the palm of his hand. "Arigato, Kenshin," she whispered; however, her words had broken the spell and Kenshin withdrew his touch.

When Kaoru opened her eyes, Kenshin had both of his hands in his lap now and was staring out into the garden. He was no longer smiling and swallowed nervously.

_No, no, no! _Kaoru panicked. There had been something there; she couldn't have imagined it this time. Now, they might very well miss their moment.

She stood up quickly dropping her half of the pomegranate on the ground and moved ito stand in front of him. "Kenshin!" She squeaked with her head low in embarrassment. "You made a mess too!" Kaoru darted forward thinking to leave a small peck of a kiss on his lips and accidentally bumped his teeth with her own; there was a loud _clink _as it happened_. _Kaoru. Was. Mortified.

Kenshin made a surprised noise that sounded like "Hrrrmmf" and Kaoru shrank back in horror.

"Gomen," she stuttered in tears and fled into the house unable to face him. What had she just done!

…

Kaoru ran to her room and slid the door shut. Her cheeks were wet with tears and red with embarrassment. That couldn't have gone worse. How stupid, stupid, stupid could she be? There was no recovering from this.

The kiss replayed itself in her mind again and again. His lips had been so cold and hard. It was true that while he hadn't pulled away, Kenshin hadn't exactly been responsive to her bumbling either leaving Kaoru with the sinking feeling that she had indeed misinterpreted the moment. As usual, for as much as she cared for Kenshin, he seemed only interested in keeping their relationship platonic.

Kaoru buried her fingers into her hair. Now what was she going to do? Just how long could she hide out in here? Maybe she should run and go visit Misao in Kyoto for a while. Then they could all just let this blow over and forget about it. Eventually.

_Yes, _she breathed. That sounded like a plan. She could leave today! Immediately even!

But her frantic thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft familiar footsteps approaching.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru squeaked. She looked around her sparsely furnished room and darted for the closet. She slid the door closed, careful not to make any noise that might give her away and waited. Hopefully he would go looking for her in the dojo next, and she could sneak out of the house.

Kaoru heard another door open as Kenshin stepped into her room. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet as he circled her bedroom. Kaoru chewed on her thumbnail and tried not to breathe. _Go away._ She willed. _Please, just go away. I can't do this with you now._

Finally, she heard his footsteps recede and the door to the room shut.

Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped the sweat that clung to her palms on the front of her kimono and emerged from the closet, but Kenshin stood inside the room with his back to the exit. Kaoru uttered a pathetic plaintive cry in the back of her throat. She had been outwitted by the rurouni.

"Gomen, Kaoru dono. This one did not want to trick you like this. I will leave if you want me to, but I would like to talk to you," Kenshin said politely. His face was clouded by the shadows of the dimly lit room which meant that with any luck he could not see the humiliation painted on hers.

Kaoru couldn't bear to look at him any longer, shadows or no. She bowed with her hands folded in front of her and apologized a second time. "Please forgive me, Kenshin. I should not have dared. Please, let's just forget this, okay," Kaoru asked and did not rise to look at him.

Kenshin began walking towards her, and suddenly he was again in her field of vision kneeling before her on one bent knee. He took one of her hands in his, gently prying it away from the other. Her free hand began to shake until he took hold of that too. "Is that what you really want this one to do, Kaoru dono," Kenshin asked solemnly. He did not smile and his eyes looked fierce like they usually did when he worried.

_YES! _Kaoru wanted to shout, but she couldn't give the command. She nodded slowly in response. All she wanted now was for things to be like they were, she insisted internally. Pining for him was ten times better than this horrible awkwardness.

Kenshin sighed and rested his forehead across her knuckles. "Then I will. This one would do anything for you, Kaoru dono. Please know that I will not fail to do whatever you ask of me. You have given me everything, Kaoru dono. "

Kaoru was stunned to silence.

"But," Kenshin continued and lifted his head so he could meet her eyes. Gently, he pulled her hands forward leading her to the floor. Kaoru knelt in front of him with her hands held against his chest. "I only ask that you forgive my earlier rudeness," Kenshin said. "I did not mean to cause you embarrassment or to be so cold in the garden. The truth is, you have never made me happier, Kaoru."

She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. He had spoken plainly without formality or honorifics in the manner of his former assassin-self, but his eyes remained kind and gentle. Her hands tightened around his rough fingers. "Ken-shin…"

He leaned forward and kissed her lips. It was Kaoru's turn to make a surprised little noise, but Kenshin did not pull away as she had. The kiss was so warm and perfect that she began to feel dizzy. Kenshin released one of her hands so that he could put his arm around her and placed his hand on her lower back. He guided them both gently to the ground and pulled her into his lap while he continued to kiss her tenderly.

However, all too soon he pulled away. Kaoru hid her face in the crook of his neck and began to cry into the collar of his stupid pink haori. She was positive that this was all some sort of horrible perfect nightmare that she would soon wake up from.

"Forgive me, Kaoru. I did not mean to cause you pain. This one will forget all of this if that is what you still wish, Kaoru dono." His voice was calm, but his breathing was short and uneven.

"No, stupid." Kaoru said into the folds of fabric sensing that he was slipping away again. "I don't want you to forget this." Gathering her courage she lifted her head and pressed a small kiss into his neck.

Kenshin inhaled quickly and began to laugh. "Hahaha, you are a bold one," he said.

Kaoru blushed and opened her mouth to make up some excuse, but Kenshin stopped her and kissed her forehead. "It's fine, Kaoru. I love that about you," he said and pulled her close. "Now, what would you like me to cook us for lunch."

"Y-you…you're ridiculous." Kaoru stammered. "How can you even think about food right now?"

Kenshin smiled mischievously. "Because Yahiko was already asking about his meal before I found you. He'll probably be along shortly looking for us."

"Oh! No, no! I can't!" Kaoru said hurriedly and struggled to stand up, but Kenshin held her fast. "We are not telling Yahiko about this, Kenshin. It's too much for one day."

"As you wish, Kaoru," Kenshin chuckled. "I will not deny you anything anymore."

Kaoru looked at him steadily and all at once broke into the biggest, happiest smile ever. "Oh Kenshin," she trilled and flung her arms around his neck. If this did turn out to be a dream, it would still be the best one of her life.

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Author's Note: Was it a dream? I'll never tell. :p I hope you enjoyed the one-shot. Please leave a review if you have the time and thanks for reading!

Also, swing by the RK_Challenge community. It is an awesomely fun time.

Translation Notes:

Tadaima - I'm home  
Okaeri - Welcome back  
Arigato - Thank you  
Gomen - I'm sorry


End file.
